Maybe it’s just me, but Halloween of yesteryear just seemed like more fun. There was less emphasis on über-mom safety, special gluten free soy candy, etc. Kids would trick or treat AT NIGHT as they should, running around in monster masks instead of safe little princess and movie memorabilia costumes. We all heard about razorblades and needles in our candy (some of it unwrapped, some of it cookies), and we didn’t care. It’s part of what made Halloween scary. Part of what makes Halloween special to me these days is more nostalgia then anything else. Remembrance of days long past when friends and I were allowed to run freely through the streets at night, trick or treating, telling ghost stories in the local cemetery. Good luck finding that now.

The blog Collecting Candy has acquired a massive amount of Halloween store displays from 1969 that bring back those wonderful memories. Here’s an example of what I mean:

Apologies for the lack of updates recently boils ‘n ghouls. We here at Backwoods Horror have been experiencing some technical difficulties, and on top of that most of the office has been sick with some kind of devil flu from hell. Unfortunately, because of these issues, we haven’t been able to keep you up to date on the latest and greatest on horror news, reviews, and everything in between. Sorry about that. But now we’re back and ready to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and we’re all out of bubble gum. So get ready for the latest and greatest in horror and thank you so very much for your patience.

In the meantime, this is about how half the office looked for the past few weeks:

This is the story about murder and sweet dresses, about knives and bubbles, about red blood and black nights. The story about mysterious interiors with walls stained with blood. If you have ever seen the Roman Polanski’s movie Bitter Moon from 1992, you will realize the reason and the source of inspiration for this title. Ecstatic love, then abandonment and revenge sweet as honey – are crucial for the story. Although, there is no bloodshed in this movie, there is an incredible energy makes experiencing this kind of extreme emotions appealing…

Apologies for no updates for yesterday and tomorrow. I may be able to get some up tonight. It’s been a busy time in regards to furthering my inclusion in the world of horror, both independent and studio. It’s all for the betterment of this site and working on my career as a filmmaker. Don’t worry though, there will be a slew of updates with the best horror news of the week when I can get them up.

“Weinstein, behind some of the bloodiest films ever made, says Hollywood should discuss its role after ‘Dark Knight’ massacre in Colorado,” reports the NY DAILY NEWS.

‘Harvey Weinstein — the legendary movie mogul behind some of the most violent films ever made — says Hollywood should look in the mirror in the wake of the “Dark Knight” massacre. Weinstein is calling for an unprecedented summit of the industry’s top filmmakers to address how on-screen violence might be leading to real-life bloodshed. “I think as filmmakers we should sit down — the Marty Scorseses, the Quentin Tarantinos and hopefully all of us who deal in violence in movies — and discuss our role in that,” Weinstein told the Huffington Post. Weinstein insisted that the Hollywood elite can’t “shirk our responsibility” for potentially inspiring the rampage in Aurora, Colo., that killed 12 people and wounded 58 others.’

This is an obvious political/PR move if I’ve ever seen one. Harvey and his brother have made their fortunes on violent films. Their very first production, in fact, was the fantastic 80’s slasher THE BURNING. It’s Tipper Gore and Joe Lieberman all over again. Some of the other genre films the Weinsteins have made a lot of money on that were incredibly violent, gory flicks were:

This list doesn’t even include all of the gory action/thriller films he’s been a part of, making buttloads of cash in doing so. So for him to do something like this is hypocrisy at its finest. The Weinsteins have their hands and money soaked in fake blood and gore. This is just ridiculous. Additionally, every on-the-level study done on violence in films vs. real life violence has shown that there is no connection whatsoever. There are things out there that do desensitize people to violence and slaughter: Slaughter House employees, for example, become incredibly desensitized and detached. The incident in Aurora Colorado was a hideous, tragic event, but it had nothing to do with the violence in the Batman films (which are rate PG-13 for cryin’ out loud!). It had everything to do with a crazy person doing a crazy, horrible thing. The MPAA already comes down hard enough on artists and their ability to create their films how they wish, and now we have a major Hollywood player who has made his fortune on violence suddenly wanting to bring everyone in the industry together to say “hey, maybe we shouldn’t make violent films), this WHILE he’s producing DJANGO UNCHAINED, a film I’m sure will be full of roses and butterflies. What a load of shit.

This Friday, JUNE 15th, 2012, starting at 7:00 pm EST (but I’d suggest getting there around 6:30pm) at the MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN for a measly $10, the original MOTHER’S DAY, directed by Charles Kaufman will be playing on the big screen. And, as an added bonus, there will be a special introduction and post screening Q&A with LLOYD KAUFMAN, founder of Troma Entertainment, and Josh Schafer, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Lunchmeat VHS Magazine.

Written, produced and directed on a budget of only $115,000 by Charles Kaufman, the brother of Lloyd Kaufman, co-founder of Troma Entertainment INC, horror film Mother’s Day follows three girlfriends as they reunite for their annual camping trip. The young friends’ vacation turns into their worst nightmare when they are kidnapped by two demented punk/hillbilly brothers. Led by their insane mother, the brothers drag the young women through deranged scenarios conceived by the sadistic matriarch.

Showcasing new possibilities for breakthrough genre filmmaking, Mother’s Day was an early example of a filmmaker’s creation taking on a new life within the video market. The opportunities introduced by video distribution went on to influence generations of filmmakers.

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE! I’ll be attending, boils ‘n ghouls, representing Backwoods Horror. See ya there!

Check out this old report from the 80’s by the clueless folk over at 20/20 titled VCR HORRORS on the DANGERS of horror flicks on VHS to the youth of America. Some of my fondest memories are of going to the local mom ‘n pop video store with my father every weekend. We’d get to pick out 5 videos to watch. My brother and I would get to choose 1 each and, more often than not, they’d be horror movies we were WAY too young to be watching (according to the MPAA and 20/20). I loved browsing the shelves, looking at the terrifyingly amazing (and, often, misguiding) art on the boxes, sometimes picking out a horror film specifically because of that art, and the outstandingly lascivious copy on the back of the box. This is a real blast from the past and it’s making me wax all nostalgic, putting me in the perfect mood to go see THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE on the big screen at midnight tonight! Hot Damn!

I’m going to be there representing Backwoods Horror. I’ll more than likely be wearing a Night Of The Living Dead t-shirt so if any of you reading this live in NYC and you’re coming out, drop on by and say howdy if you see me.

Howdy ho there boils ‘n ghouls. I realize it’s been a little while now since I’ve updated Backwoods Horror. What’s my excuse? I’ve been BUSY! Well, that’s part of it, anyway. One reason I haven’t been updating much is that, sadly, the state of the genre has been sickening (and not in a good way). Every horror film that seems to come out these days is either a shitty remake or a shitty original. The heart just doesn’t seem to be there any more when it comes to making a damn good horror movie. Either big studios are pumping out remakes that crap on the originals for some quick cash, or smaller/indie studios and directors are doing rush job gore fests for the same reason. It’s not about quality anymore. That sort of thing is disheartening when you’re a big fan of the genre, and over time I began to wonder why I was putting so much effort into this site when every day I was slapped in the face by another disappointment.

Then there was the move. That’s right boils ‘n ghouls, I’ve moved out of the shack down South and into the big city…New York City. Manhattan, for the detail obsessed out there. Why? Because NYC is where it’s at, that’s why. What does this mean for Backwoods Horror? Good question (quit asking so many damn questions!). Well, first of all, you can take the horror fiend out of the backwoods, but you can’t take the backwoods out of the horror fiend. Backwoods Horror is still going to have that touch of crazy, that’s never going away, but now that I’m in NYC, I’ll finally have access to things I never had access to before. Now, when independent horror flicks get a limited release (those limited releases often hitting NYC), I’ll be able to check ’em out and let you, my readers, know if they’re worth a damn before spending your hard earned buckaroos. And that’s just the tip of the horror iceberg. I can’t wait to dive in and see what terrors lurk beneath.

For all you boils ‘n ghouls out there with deaddies, rotting or not, here’s a little something from FearNet featuring Sam, everyone’s favorite spirit of Halloween from TRICK ‘r TREAT (one of my now favorite flicks, one to be watched every year at Halloween). So dig up your pop, (maybe he wants his cake – pat yourself on the back with someone else’s arm if you got that reference) and sit down to watch this little clip in the spirit of the holiday. And don’t forget, just 5 more months till HALLOWEEN!